Do you know what foam rolling is? Better yet, have you ever used one? Foam rolling is a great way to loosen up tight muscles for a myofascial release. If you’re feeling aches and pains, most of the time if there is no traumatic injury, these can be attributed to tight muscles and adhesions or even some scar tissue. Foam rolling is the answer to all three of those! Why is foam rolling better than stretching? Imagine you have a piece of chicken breast that you’re going to cook for dinner. That filmy white stuff is the fascia, or connective tissue, that surrounds the muscle. Your body has the same stuff, and sometimes that fascia doesn’t move smoothly along the muscle. If you stretch the muscle, you’re releasing the muscle fibers but not necessarily getting to the fascia to release the adhesions. The other problem with just stretching instead of foam rolling is that if you have a spasm, or muscle kink, you will stretch above and below that spot, but you won’t actually get a good stretch in the spasm itself. These are only a few of the reasons why foam rolling is so important! Plus, it just feels GREAT!!!! Yes, it will hurt pretty bad in certain areas, but I promise you that the more often you do it and the more consistent you are, the less it will hurt each time! Happy rolling! =) Click HERE and HERE to download your Foam Rolling Guides!!

I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

— Michael Jordan

I LOVE this!!! When you meet failure, do you get discouraged and give up? Or do you get back up and push even harder and work at it until you succeed?? Push yourself to reach your goals and every time you have a hiccup in the road, appreciate it as merely a hiccup on your path to greatness, and move past it!

Here is a workout for all of you who don’t have a gym or any equipment at home! All you need is your own body weight and some motivation to kick some MAJOR booty with this workout!

Free weight/body weight workout!

For each exercise today we’re going to go for a minute doing as many as you can in a slow and controlled manner, then take a minute of rest to get ready for the next exercise. After you go through the entire circuit, push yourself and try to repeat it once or twice more!

Warm up with 3 minute cycle: 1 min jogging (in place or around the room), 1 min holding a plank, 1 min of jumping jacks

3. Walking Lunge with Rotation (Make sure that both knees bend at 90 degrees, rotation is to the side opposite of the leg in front)

4. 3 way Calf Raises (20 seconds of toes point forward, 20 seconds of toes pigeon toed, 20 seconds of toes pointed out) (Make sure to squeeze calves at the end of the movement)

5. Straight Plank and Side Plank (1 minute hold of a regular plank on the elbows, 1 minute rest, then 1 minute of side planks leaning on only 1 side to hit Obliques instead)

6. Crunch series (30 seconds of crunches with feet on the floor and knees bent, 30 seconds with knees and hips both at 90 degrees, 30 seconds of legs straight up in the air) (Make sure to not pull at the neck and only come up as high as it takes to get your shoulder blades off the ground, not all the way up so your entire back is off the ground)

7. Triceps Push Ups (get into a regular push up position, but instead of elbows pointing out to the sides, keep the elbows close to your body and lower body towards ground then push back up keeps elbows narrow)

9. Hip Raises (Sit on the floor with hands on floor next to hips, back and legs straight)(Keep hands palm down on ground and raise hips up until body, hips, and thighs are in a straight line then let head dip backwards and squeeze your butt. Hold this position for 30 seconds, take a break, then hold for another 30 seconds)

10. Mountain climbers (Balanced in a pike position—hands and feet on ground, butt in the air—bring knees to chest and extend back out as quickly as possible)(Do this for 1 minute, take a break, then repeat) (Remember that you’re running or “climbing” as quickly as possible so keep those legs moving!)

Have you ever heard of Kinesiotape? It’s the brightly colored tape you see on all the Olympic and Pro athletes on TV and in magazines! There are VERY specific ways of application to create desired results. It is important that you have a trained professional (like me!) apply this tape or teach you how… You don’t want to put it on wrong and end up having adverse effects! It can last for up to 2 weeks per application depending on how you care for it.

What does Kinesiotape do? Well, it is designed to facilitate the body’s natural healing process while allowing support and stability to muscles and joints without restricting the body’s range of motion. It can be used to treat a variety of orthopedic, neuromuscular, neurological, and medical conditions. Below is a basic list of what we can achieve when I put Kinesiotape on you:

*Re-educate the neuromuscular system

*Reduce pain

*Optimize performance

*Prevent injury

*Promote improved circulation and healing

*Reduce edema or joint effusion

Here are just a few of the Kinesiotape jobs I’ve done! K-tape is a GREAT way to activate or deactivate muscles, correct biomechanical patterns, or reduce swelling. Click HERE to learn more about K-Tape!

Here are pictures and instructions on how to perform basic and commonly used stretches for your entire body! Remember to hold each stretch for a minimum of 30 seconds to 1 minute. Make sure that your stretches are gentle and not to the point of pain. Feel free to comment here or contact me with any questions or comments!

Adductors

Sit on the floor with the knees bent and the bottom of your feet together (in the butterfly position). Hold ankles with both hands and press your thighs down by using your elbows.

Hamstrings

Stand tall in front of a low curb or chair. Put 1 heel on chair and keep legs straight. Slowly bend forward at the hips to bend your trunk closer to the leg that is extended in front until you feel a stretch down the back of the front leg. Further this stretch by flexing your ankle or turning your toes in and out.

Hip flexors/Quads

Kneel down with one leg extended in front of the other at a 90 degree angle. Lean forward until you feel a stretch in the front of the back leg. Make sure that your stance is big enough that your front knee doesn’t extend past your toes. For a deeper stretch, make sure you aren’t extending your low back, and reach your arms slightly over the side that is in front while keeping the hips facing forward to open up the hip.

Hips/Glutes

Lie on the floor with both legs extended. Cross one leg so that the ankle is over the knee of the opposite leg, like a figure 4. Keep your back straight and bring the “straight” leg’s knee up to your chest until you feel a stretch in the buns on the side you’re not touching.

Calves

It is important to note that the calf is made up of 2 different muscles, your Gastrocs and your Soleus, so you must stretch BOTH! To stretch your gastrocs, stand in an exaggerated step forwards, leaning into a wall with your arms. Try to keep your back leg straight while your front let is around 90 degrees. Lean forwards until you feel a stretch in the back of your back leg. To hit your Soleus, try to bend your back knee while keeping the heel on the ground and still leaning forward. You’ll probably feel the stretch move a bit, which means you’re doing it correctly!

Neck

In a seated position, sit on one hand, palm up. Use your other hand to gently pull your head so that your ear travels towards your shoulder, opposite of the side that you’re sitting on your hand. Repeat this by angling your head toward your opposite armpit instead of shoulder to move the stretch to the Levator Scapulae instead of your upper Trapezius muscles.

Upper Back

Lie sideways on the floor in the fetal position. Knees should be bent as close to the chest as possible with arms out in front of you, arms stacked. Take one arm and try to open up the chest, with your head following the arm that is moving. Ideally you should be able to open your back all the way up so that your hips are still sideways on the ground but your back and head are flat on the ground with your arm extended and touching the ground on the other side of your body.

Low Back

Lie on your back with your knees bent and arms straight out to the side. Place both hands on top of one shin, just below the knee, and gently pull this leg up towards your chest. For a deeper stretch, extend the other leg completely out straight. Repeat this on the other leg, then bring both knees to chest.

Shoulders

Sit or stand with good posture. Cross one arm across the body and use the other arm to gently pull it farther across body. Keep the shoulder being stretched down and relaxed.

Biceps

With your arm completely extended in front of you palm up, gently use other hand to bend fingers towards floor, opening up forearm and biceps.

Chest

Stand in a doorway. Bend the arm closest to the doorway at 90 degrees with forearm against the doorway. Gently lean your body away from the arm to feel a stretch in the pecs. Play with the angles of the elbow; try below 90, at 90, and above 90 for a full pec stretch.

Triceps

Start either sitting or standing. Put one hand over the opposite shoulder between your shoulder blades. Make sure that hand is pointing downwards and the elbow is pointing upwards. Use your opposite hand to gently press down on the elbow until you feel a stretch in the triceps.